Printed circuit card latch



Nov. 1, 1966 D. E. KOSANDA PRINTED CIRCUIT CARD LATCH Filed April '7, 1.965

I N VEN TOR. DAVID E. KOSANDA FIG 4 ATTORNEY States att 3,283,213 Patented Nov. I, 1966 fie 3,283,213 PRINTED CIRCUIT CA LATCH David E. Kosanda, Richardson, Tex., assignor to Collins Radio Company, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a corporation of Iowa Filed Apr. 7, 1965, Ser. No. 446,263 4 Claims. (Cl. 317-99) This invention relates in general to a self-locking handle .and in particular to a flexible lock which is capable of locking printed circuit boards to card racks.

Printed circuit -boards are used extensively in electronic equipment and are generally mounted in card racks formed of guide members with slots into which the cards slide. I t is desirable to have a positive lock to Iassure that the cards will not move relative to the card racks but which allows easy removal of the cards when desired.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a flexible latch for a card rack.

Another object is to provide a simple and economical latch.

A lfeature is found in the provision for a member of flexible material which is receivable on a card rack and which in the first position locks a card in `a guide slot of the rack but which is movable to a second position `to allow cards to be removed from the rack.

Further objects, features, and .advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description and claims when read in view of the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE l is a side View of a card rack with the latch of this invention illustrated thereon;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the flexible latch of this invention;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective View of the latch in position on an individual guide member;

FIGURE 4 is a view of the latch in the card-locked position; and,

FIGURE 5 is a view of the latch in the deflected posi tion to allow a card to be removed from the card rack.

FIGURE 1 illustrates a plurality of cards designated as 10, 11, 12 and 13, which are mounted in aligned slots formed in card guides 14, 16 and 17. As illustrated by card 11, the card has its bottom edge in a slot formed in the middle guide 16 and its top edge in a guide slot formed in the bottom edge of the guide 14. Each of the guides 14, 16 and 17 have slots on both sides for this purpose.

Support members 18 and 19, 21 and 22, 23 and 24 pass through the guides 14, 16 and 17, respectively, and are attached to the main frame 20 of the card rack. Likewise, bayonet pins 26 and 27, 28 and 29, 30 and 31 are attached to the rear portions, respectively, of the guides 14, 16 and 17 and :are receivable in the main frame of the card rack to lock the guides in position. The outer ends 32, 33 and 34 of the card guides 14, 16 and 17 are formed with er1- larged portions to receive thereon the flexible latch 36 of this invention.

The latch is shown in FIGURE 2. The latch is made of Ia flexible material as, for example, polyethylene and is formed with a portion 37 which is connected yby a narrow portion of material 38 to a handle 39. An end 41 is attached to the handle portion 39 and extends to the left relative to FIGURE 2. An L shaped portion 42 is attached to the main portion 37 and is formed with a slot 43.- The main portion 37 is formed with a slot 44 in alignment with slot 43 and the enlarged portion 32 of the card guide is receivable through slots 43 and 44 to attach the latch to the card guide. The end 46 of portion 41 of the handle bears against the side wall of the guide 14 when the latch is in the locked position. The junction point between the main body portion 37 and the L shaped member 42 is a reduced cross sectional area designated by numeral 47 which forms a pair of slots 48 and 49.

As shown in FIGURE 5,' by pressing on the handle portion 39, the latch may be defiected so as to move slots 48 and 49 to the left relative to FIGURE 5 such that slots 48 and 49 align with slots 51 and 52 formed in the guide 14. When this occurs, card 10 may be inserted through slot 48 into slot 51 of the card guide to the position shown in FIGURE 4. When the end 54 yof the card has cleared the portion 47, the handle 39 may be released to allow the latch to return to its undefiected position as shown in FIGURE 4 such that the portion 56 of the latch firmly locks the card 1t) in the slot 51 so it cannot be removed.

At any time the card 10 is to be removed, the handle 54 may be deflected with manual pressure to the position shown in FIGURE 5 such that the slot 48 aligns with the slot 51 and the card 10 may be slid from the card rack. It is noted that the latch simultaneously locks cards in `slots 51 and 52 such that in FIGURE l both the cards 10 and 11 are locked by the latch 36 on guide 14 and cards 12 and 13 :are locked by latch 58 mounted on guide 17. It is to be noted that the intermediate guide 16 does not require a latch and only every other one of the guides has a latch.

As shown in FIGURE 4 other guides 61 and latches 62 may be mounted on support 18 adjacent each other. This allows many guides and cards to be mounted in a single card rack. The guides are positioned such that an adjacent guide prevents a latch from being removed from a guide.

It is seen that this invention provides a simple latch structure for a card guide `and although it has been described With respect to particular embodiments thereof, it is not to be so limited, as changes and modifications may be made therein which are within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A latch for a guide member formed with an enlarged portion, comprising a first slot formed in the latch and slidably receivable over the enlarged portion of the guide member, a second slot formed in the guide member, and a third slot formed in the latch which in `a first position of the latch is out of alignment with the second slot and which is movable to a second position wherein the second slot is aligned with the third slot `and the second and third slots formed in the same direction and at right angles to the first slot.

2. A latch for .a guide member, said guide member formed with parallel slots on opposite sides thereof, said latch :attached to the end of the guide member and formed with la pair of slots which in a first position of the latch are not alinged with the slots of the guide member, but which are aligned with the slots of the guide member in a second position of the latch and flexible Istop means for holding the latch in the first position.

3. A latch constructed of flexible material, a guide member forme-d with a slot, the latch movably attached to the end of the guide member and formed with a slot in the same direction as the slot in the guide member which is normally out of alignment with the slot in the guide member, a exible stop means and handle forming a part of the latch and engaging one side Aof the guide member to normally hold the two slots out of alignment .and said latch movable to a second position to align the slot in the latch with the slot in the guide member when the handle is depressed.

4. In apparatus according to claim 3, `a second slot formed in the guide member and a second -slot formed in 4 the latch such that these slot-s are aligned when the handle is depressed.

References Cited by the Examiner 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,475,782 11/1923 Beach 40-10 X 2,332,846 10/1943 Fladd 339-59 X ROBERT K. SCHAEFER, Primary Examiner. 10 M. GINSBURG, Assistant xaminer. 

1. A LATCH FOR A GUIDE MEMBER FORMED WITH AN ENLARGED PORTION, COMPRISING A FIRST SLOT FORMED IN THE LATCH AND SLIDABLY RECEIVABLE OVER THE ENLARGED PORTION OF THE GUIDE MEMBER, A SECOND SLOT FORMED IN THE GUIDE MEMBER, AND A THIRD SLOT FORMED IN THE LATCH WHICH IN A FIRST POSITION OF THE LATCH IS OUT OF ALIGNMENT WITH THE SECOND SLOT AND WHICH IS MOVABLE TO A SECOND POSITION WHEREIN THE SECOND SLOT IS ALIGNED WITH THE THIRD SLOT AND THE SECOND AND THIRD SLOTS FORMED IN THE SAME DIRECTION AND AT RIGHT ANGLES TO THE FIRST SLOT. 